Articles & Blog Posts

Do you have questions about your child's IEP?

If your child has an IEP (Individualized Education Program), you may have questions about its contents and what rights you have as a parent. On Saturday, September 30, 2017 from 9AM - 2PM, North Coastal Consortium for Special Education is hosting a workshop to help parents/guardians understand the special education process including IEP (Individualized Education Program) process, meetings, and components. This is a FREE workshop for parents/guardians/family attending NCCSE member districts (Download the registration form below for more details).

Kindergarten is a big step in every child’s life. It’s exciting and possibly the first real experience a child has in a classroom setting. With the new school year fast approaching, many parents may be wondering if their child is ready and how they can help their child be successful in their first year.

Below is a checklist of skills your child should have or should be working on as they enter kindergarten...

What your child should understand: •Understands ordinal words such as, “first, next, and last”•Understands time concepts such as, “yesterday, today, and tomorrow”•Understands spatial concepts such as, “under, in back of, next to, in front of”•Follows 2-3 step directions in the correct order with qualitative concepts such as, “Pick up your pencil and draw a circle on your paper around something you drink•Understands most of what is said at home and outside environments•Recognizes 8 basic colors and shapes•Recognizes first and last name•Recognizes some letters•Sits still and listens to a story•Pretends to read a book•Good attendance

Speech and language your child should use:•Says all speech sounds in words, although it’s okay if mistakes are made on later developing sounds such as L, R, CH, SH, TH•Says alphabet•Says days of the week•Says or shows age•Sings songs or nursery rhymes•Counts to at least 10•Names some letters, numbers and colors•Uses pronouns such as, “I, me, you, mine, yours, he, she, him, her”•Answers simple WH questions such as, what, where, when, who, why•Uses sentences with action words such as, “jump, play” and “get"•Tells a short story•Keeps a conversation going•Talks in different ways depending on the listener and place, such as speaking in shorter sentences to younger children or talking louder outside than inside

Let’s set our kids up for success! If you have any questions or need any suggestions, please reach out to your OTG SLPs.

By: Oceanside Therapy Group's Speech/Language Department

Source:“Four to Five Years.” ASHA, http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/45/. Accessed25 July 2017.